2 minutes?! That's a joke, they couldn't have found a way to stretch the tracks to over 2.5 minutes? I'm also annoyed that there's no deluxe cover. This all feels a little lazy. 'Test Drive' is still a bop though and I do like the other tracks despite the length. 'pov', 'motive', 'just like magic', 'nasty', 'my hair', 'love language' and 'safety net' all remain supreme.

What a colossal disappointment :(

Now I've had a bit more time to spam the new songs I think I'd go...

 

worst behavior > test drive > main thing

 

Not too much separating 'worst behavior' and 'test drive' for me really but the switch up of the talk-singing style on the former just about clinched it, loved that. I'm glad the driving metaphors are back too in the latter after her verse in the '34+35' remix containing those was cut :kink: 'test drive' reminds me a little of 'motive' with the repetitive chorus and snappy beat, if a little more soft. Thematically the bonus tracks are mellow in general actually - the main contains songs like 'off the table' and 'safety net' where she felt afraid to love again - but in all these extra songs she seems quite positive and settled in her relationship, which is great to hear. 'main thing' strikes me as the least memorable and essential right now and probably the one that could've done with being fleshed out the most. The lyrics are particularly lovely and even this song is more of an upbeat contribution compared to moments on the standard, with the fairly chirpy beat, but it's not really hitting in the same way as the other two for me.

 

The interlude gives me serious 00s R&B vibes with the twinkly production and brass instruments. A slow intro to follow on nicely from 'pov' on the standard but morphs into more of a trappy song to prepare us for the more upbeat 'test drive' just around the corner.

 

I think as a release day this has been disappointing with just 7 minutes of new content - the one additional song that is the longest is the remix aka the one we already knew :') and there's always going to be a niggle of wanting an extra minute of all these songs. But as a whole package of 'positions' add-ons I think the album now being bumped up to 51 minutes will be a good whole experience for me going forward. I'm far from blown away today and wanted more but some more upbeat additions are still welcome.

I listened on dinner break and thought ‘worst behavior’ sounded the best on first listen.

 

Excited to listen to them more over the weekend.

Definitely echo the fact that these tracks are wayyyy too short - when I loaded up the album on Spotify and saw the track lengths I was pretty disappointed.

 

Aside from that, I think they're all solid additions. For me they definitely increase the quality of the overall album, and are really cohesive with the standard tracks too.

 

The interlude is a nice way to bridge the gap between 'pov' and the new songs. As for the other 3, I think ‘test drive’ is my favourite but I’m finding it difficult to pick a favourite out of ‘worst behaviour’ and ‘main thing’.

'motive' continuing to climb on Spotify: 122 142 Ariana Grande – Motive (feat. Doja Cat)

 

Interested to see what kind of effect the new deluxe tracks will have tomorrow. Everything is top 10 on iTunes now - even the interlude :lol:

 

Edit: the album climbed in the chart today so keeps up the top 40 run! 01-03-09-11-18-26-27-29-11-11-15-24-24-29-39-33 ~ here's to the deluxe boost now ^_^

The bonus tracks are cute enough but not too essential and I agree about being annoyed at how short they are :snif:

 

I think I'd have appreciated them more if they just came with the original album as a deluxe then instead of the build of hype we got leading up to this release. I get why she did it though, to drum up more hype and interest/streaming etc but yeah~

 

Overall, not bad - I will keep them!

I kind of thought Test Drive would be similar in style to Olivia Rodrigo's Drivers licence but it isn't. Quite a good song and I like the orchestral influenced production.

 

Main Thing I find rather boring.

 

Worst behaviour is good though, like Jade I liked the talk-singing.

 

 

These are way too short and the deluxe feels so... lazy? :lol: Maybe they just did it to tack on the 34+35 remix for extra album sales/streams?

 

On the plus side, it looks likely they will push singles from the original track listing. Given the current surge for "Motive" I hope they go with that follow by "pov".

Does the intro of Test Drive sample Sure by Take That, or is it just a coincidence? Crazily similar.

Definitely non-essential additions for me, low both in duration and originality for me.

https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/m...ntinues__32503/

 

Ariana Grande’s former chart-topper Positions is on course to return to the Top 5 for the first time since November following the release of its deluxe edition, currently at Number 5 and the most-streamed record of the week so far.

 

:cheer:

 

‘test drive’ also #30 in the singles mids

1,976 sales so far, 896 sales up week-on-week.

These low sales right now :cry: I hope she avoids #1 so she doesn't break the record of lowest sales at #1 ever :lol: #2 - #5 somewhere will do xo

My order from November with the 'positions' CD 2, glitter cassette and "heaven sent you to me" shirt finally arrived today :lol:

 

Also 'test drive' has charted at #38 in the U.K. *.* I think I count a round 30th top 40 for Ariana here now? :o

It is indeed her 30th! Relieved that test drive managed to hang on after it was sliding so much during the week, my highlight of the otherwise underwhelming deluxe additions!

Wow - a fantastic achievement for her! Yeah it was dropping quite quickly on streaming and iTunes so good to see it hanging in there.

 

Speaking of hanging in there... 'positions' climbs all the way back up to #5 thanks to the deluxe! :cheer: so kept its mids position all week ^_^

 

01-03-09-11-18-26-27-29-11-11-15-24-24-29-39-33-05 *.*

@1366117553714659333

 

Strong climb in the U.S.!

Nice to welcome in back into many of the worlds top 5 charts. Great method for longevity, makes a lot of sense. I'm hoping they push a new single soon as 34+35 fades a little more.

Yeah the deluxe has been a nice boost and the vinyl in April should help once again - fingers crossed for 'pov' a new single soon too!

 

Ari has achieved her 68th Billboard Hot 100 hit now as 'test drive' is new at #61! The singles are still doing well also, 'positions' actually climbed this week:

 

@1366463809968300036